Archive for the ‘How to Troubleshooting’ Category

Printers are essential to any space, from school, homes, offices and most especially to enterprise level companies and high grade printing facilities. Canon is one brand people trust because of its efficiency and of course great variety of products for various types of printing needs. Sometimes your life hangs on an efficient printer for projects, corporate information, releases and high grade image printing. Having Canon printer problems would be a nightmare and so what do we do to fix the most common problems that we usually encounter?

The first thing you have to do when you have a new printer is to make sure that the printer driver matches the Canon printer itself. Otherwise, there will be a lot of errors that you will encounter and so you might want to purge the documents first and reset your printer until all the unnecessary conditions are removed. This is essential to have a smooth printing process with your Canon printers.

Printer paper issues- what you can do is to restart your computer, then restart your printer and start making a test page to know if the printer is well calibrated for your purposes. If you have a paper jam, Canon printers would usually have a button designated to release a jammed paper but if it does not work, open your device and guide the printer and the paper gently. Do not tug too much as it may damage the device.

Look at your guide for proper paper feeding. Canon printers have marks and designated alignments to know the right position of your paper for the size of the paper. You can fed the paper on the tray but sometimes, there are printers like the Dot matrix that can be fed like a typewriter style and so you have to know the settings that you need in order to minimize printer jamming.

Always make sure that the printer ink is always at good levels because when you print with printer inks that are clogged and almost empty, the quality of printing especially for photos and colored projects are going to suffer. Check your Canon printer ink levels every now and then. Use only high quality Canon ink for better printer performance.

Cleaning your Canon print head is essential to prevent your document from having the unnecessary smears and dirt that could ruin your project or important document.

Another Canon printer problem is when the printer is not responding, if that is the case, check if your connections are placed well and verify if your cables are on the right spots. Sometimes it may be the printer itself that has a problem.

Canon Printer problems can be avoided by following the right printing procedures, making sure that the printer ink levels are right, the printer facility is clean and at the right temperature, and your paper is positioned well. Also check your connections and drivers to ensure that you save on precious paper and ink as well as minimize hassles and Canon printer problems.

You might as well raise your eyebrows upon knowing that you can share printers across the net? But why should you doubt that possibility? After all, the internet has many technologies to offer. Through Cross Platform Sharing, you will be able to share printers without making firewall changes or asking for router permission. How is this process possible then?

1. Invest on the printing software. The software application can be installed into the printer thus allowing for device sharing across the net. These can be used for almost all OS Platforms including Linux and Macintosh.

2. Start installing the software. This process is very simple. You just have to start downloading it. Choose the download link depending on the OS you’re using. Then launch it and voila! You can enjoy using the printer sharing software soon.

3. Wait! You also have to sign-up. This will not require too much of your time. It won’t even ask you a lot of information. You simply have to give a legitimate email address and a nickname for your own account.

4. Now, you’re ready to configure the software. This is the real reason behind why you need to sign-up and provide your email address. You can only configure the program on the remote machine using the password sent to your email. A username and password will be required while you configure the software.

Some printing software for sharing printers may vary. The steps provided above, however is very basic to all of them.

Did you ever think that print head cleaning methods are all the same for all printer brands? Well, they have their similarities but there are some unique tips to consider for each of these brands as well. So whether you own an HP, a Lexmark or a Dell printer, this article will help you get an idea on how to clean printheads for these printer brands.

Cleaning an HP printhead

There are various methods you may use when cleaning an HP printhead.

1. Cleaning the printhead using the control panel. Start by pressing the power button first. Using the ‘Resume’ button, you can select your own levels for cleaning printheads. Press this button 6 times for level 1 cleaning; five times for level 2; and seven times for level 3.

2. Cleaning an HP printhead using the EWS or Embedded Web Server. Start by launching the EWS using your web browser or the printer toolbox’s ‘Information Tab’. When you use the web browser, you will be required to type the IP address assigned to your HP printer. After choosing the right method, you can now click on “Settings”, “Maintenance” then the “Printhead” tabs. Under the “Printhead” tab simply choose clean printheads then click “Apply”.

3. Cleaning printheads manually. Start by turning your printer on and opening your HP printer’s top cover. After which, you should wait around two or three seconds before you unplug the printer’s power cord. Now, you may lift the printhead’s latch and handle. Then you are now prepared to remove any HP printer ink left on the contact pads of the printhead. Make sure you use dry and soft cloth.

Once you are through with your print head cleaning, you may now place the printhead on paper towel. See to it that the nozzles are not directly in contact with that of the paper. Then you can now proceed to cleaning the printhead contact points found inside the printer. Wait for these ones to dry before you turn the printer on again. Repeat all these steps if you have more than one HP printhead.

Cleaning a Lexmark printhead

You can start cleaning your Lexmark printhead by inserting a paper inside the paper tray. Then using your Windows-based computer, click on the ‘Start’ menu. Then simply select ‘All Programs’ to choose the folder made for Lexmark. There may be instances when ‘Lexmark Solution Center’ will appear on the options. You can use that one to clean your printheads.

From there, you may use the ‘Maintenance’ option. This will lead you to click on the cleaning settings for your printer. Then after that, you will be given the print test page option. Doing this will clean the Lexmark printhead.

Cleaning your Dell printhead

The first thing you should do when cleaning your Dell printhead is to use the ‘print and align’ functions. When this does not work, you should clean the head manually. Dip a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol then clean the area where Dell Printer ink build-up is most prominent. Allow the area to dry before placing the cartridge back into the printer.

In all these three printer brands, the print head cleaning process should be tested by printing a test page. This is your way of knowing that the printer still prints. If not, then you might as well repeat the cleaning process or replace your ink cartridges instead.

Are you worried about the numbers that come out from your printer’s display panel while you are using your HP printers? Well, these can be HP printer error codes. You don’t have to worry about them as there are solutions to such errors. Want to know more about what these error codes are and see how they can be solved?

HP printer error codes to watch out for

Some of the most common printer error codes that can pop out your computer screens (or your HP printer’s display panel) are due to paper problems. There are those that result from use of wrong HP supplies.

1. Error 10. This denotes “Supplies Memory Error”. This error actually comes out depending on your printer model. This is caused by the printer having problems with the memory chip. The simplest way to solve this problem is to reset the printer settings by turning the printer off and on.

2. Error 11. This printer error code means “Paper Out”. The problem with this is it appears even if you have loaded the paper on the tray. To solve this, you have to check the problem and see to it that the paper is loaded correctly. Sometimes, this can also be a result of HP ink or toner build-up on the sides of the paper tray so better check on that too.

3. Error 12. This is a code for “Open or No EP Cartridge.” If this printer error code shows up on the screen, it means that the top cover is open. This can be a result of defective toner cartridges, cooling fans or PS5 sensors. You should then check where the defect is coming from and replace the parts when necessary.

4. Error 13. This code means “Paper Jam”. The first thing you can do to solve this problem is to check on your paper. See to it that it matches what is specified for your printer model. Some HP printers may have problems when you load thick paper inside them. In view of this, you should check HP’s paper guide.

5. Error 14. This can be an indicator of “No EP or Toner Cartridge.” This is one of the HP printer error codes that may confuse you especially if you have installed your HP cartridges. Well, how can you solve this then? Simply pull out the cartridge and reinstall them again.

6. Error 16. This HP printer error code is short for “Toner Low”. This might mean that you already have an empty printer cartridge. But at times this can also mean that the printer toner is not distributed evenly. When this is the case, simply shake the printer cartridge from back to front and side to side.

7. Error 21. Also known as HP printer error code for “Print Overrun”, this problem can be solved by seeing to it that your printing job is not too complex. You may be required to makes some adjustments with your document’s font size.

There are still other HP printer error codes that may come out depending on the printer model you own. You can check on the manual that comes with your HP printers when these codes appear on the printer’s display.

There are two reasons behind why you should clean your printer head. First is for the fact that a clogged print head can affect printing quality. The second one is the fact that this can eventually cause damage to your printer.

There are also things you should consider when cleaning this part of the printer ink cartridge. You should take note of preventive measures before you clear the clogs from the said area.

1. How to prevent the print head from clogging. You can simply do this by making sure you’re using your printer regularly. It is essential to use the printer at least once a week. This is a better option over running the cleaning utility of the printer as it costs lesser printer ink.

In addition to this, you must make sure that your printer is free from any dust or pollutants. Check for any debris that may affect its head. Furthermore, you should turn off the printer when it is not in use.

2. How to clear clogs. You can always use the built-in system for cleaning printer heads. You just have to initiate the cleaning cycles, usually once every week. This can prevent printer heads from being clogged. But, this process becomes inefficient in that it wastes printer ink.

Instead of running the cleaning utility system you may use a brush for the printer heads. Make sure the Q-tips have been soaked in water. As much as possible avoid using alcohol in this process. Of course, you may also invest on cleaning kits for your printer. The most common ones contain ammonia in tubes which you can spray over printer heads to get rid of dried printer ink.

Don’t waste any time. Start cleaning your printer head regularly and you will no longer encounter printer and printing problems in the future.